Exxon invests $600 million in algae based fuel

Chris

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May 30, 2008
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'Green goo' biofuel gets a boost - CNN.com

Last month ExxonMobil-- which has been publicly skeptical of other biofuels in the past -- invested up to $600 million into a collaborative R&D program with Synthetic Genomics, a startup founded by J. Craig Venter.

Venter's previous firm, Celera Genomics, was a key player in sequencing the human genome. Synthetic Genomics is looking at, among other approaches, the use of tweaked metabolic pathways in algae to boost the plant's oil production. The startup received an earlier investment from BP a few years ago, but this one by ExxonMobil has raised eyebrows both for its size and because of the giant's track record.

"ExxonMobil has always been like the grinch that stole clean tech," says Udupa. "And then all of a sudden they're investing a lot of money in this one algae company."

The company kept enthusiasm tempered at a press call last month. "We need to be realistic," said Emil Jacobs, vice president of R&D at the oil giant's research and engineering unit. "This is not going to be easy, and there are no guarantees of success."

But after years of careful research ExxonMobil concluded that algae, among all the alternatives, has the most potential in terms of scalability and fitting into the vast infrastructure of existing refineries and filling stations. (It can also produce far more fuel per acre than palm, sugar cane, or corn.) Other big oil companies have recently invested into algae ventures as well, including Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell.
 
Oh yeah, we will replace one over used resource by over using a more important resource. That's a good idea ... sure.
 
Oh yeah, we will replace one over used resource by over using a more important resource. That's a good idea ... sure.

We can grow algae.

In America.

Unless you want to keep giving $100 billion dollars a year to foreign nations.
 
Oh yeah, we will replace one over used resource by over using a more important resource. That's a good idea ... sure.

We can grow algae.

In America.

Unless you want to keep giving $100 billion dollars a year to foreign nations.
We can drill for crude, natural gas and mine coal in America, too.

Unless you want to keep giving $100 billion dollars a year to foreign nations.

Dumb fuck.
 
Oh yeah, we will replace one over used resource by over using a more important resource. That's a good idea ... sure.

We can grow algae.

In America.

Unless you want to keep giving $100 billion dollars a year to foreign nations.
We can drill for crude, natural gas and mine coal in America, too.

Unless you want to keep giving $100 billion dollars a year to foreign nations.

Dumb fuck.

We are already doing that.

Dumb fuck.
 
Oh yeah, we will replace one over used resource by over using a more important resource. That's a good idea ... sure.

We can grow algae.

In America.

Unless you want to keep giving $100 billion dollars a year to foreign nations.

We can grow trees to ... but did that work out too well?


We can already grow algae. In New Mexico in the desert using recycled water a company is growing enough algae to power hundreds of vehicles. The amount of oil/energy gained from the algae is way better than corn and sugar. Plus it doesnt take any food out of the market and can be grown in the country. Then there is also a coal fire plant cannot remember the exact location but they use the carbon emitted from the coal to feed algae in a tank that can be harvested to provide oil and the water it uses is also recycled. So it provides elecricity for homes and ethanol(algae) for automobiles. This is a real good idea!
 
Algae is renewable, does not affect the food channel and consumes CO2. It will be one solution to get the US off foreign oil, become energy independent and create new green jobs.

To learn more about the fast-track commercialization of the algae industry, you may want to check out the National Algae Association.

They are the first algae trade association in the US.
 
Fossil fuel investing in research.

Solar energy is almost as old of a technology at least a 100 years since its discovery yet Solar energy does not generate a significant profit to invest in basic research.

Wind power is older than oil and solar yet today wind farms do not generate a profit so they cannot reinvest in research.

Geothermal is the same thing, not enough profit to invest.

Green energy in not renewable in any way.
 

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